Control means for automobiles



Feb. 22, '1938. H. E. CLARKE CONTROL MEANS FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Jan. 2,' 1952 '2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q Q Q Q o xv o E mu .1 {Q Q O s Q a 3% .2 wk x. k M \w as \Q s Q Q Q Q t, w o 4 w x w Q p R 3 3 4 Q kq Q i NTDR Z. 2} $122. ATTDRN Feb; 22, 1938. H. E. CLARKE CONTROL MEANS FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed Jan. 2,- 1932 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Feb. 22, 31938 entree stares amid oon'raor. mans FOR AUTOMOBILES Harold E. Qlarke, Somerville, Mass, assignor to Bendix Products Corporation, South Bend, lind., a corporation of Indiana.

Application January 2, 1932, Serial No. 584,545

l Claim.

My invention relates to foot operative means for controlling automobiles, and it has been the special object of my invention to provide means whereby the operator may'control the throttle,

t3 clutch and brake through the action of the single foot without the necessity of substantially altering the position, or placement, of the foot, thereby avoiding the need of such conscious and carefully executed control operations as must be had when one foot of the operator must be shifted from one place to another to effect diiferent control functions, or, two feet must be either simultaneous or in quick succession.

I amaware that it is old/in the art to provide means for operating both throttle and clutch by a single foot pedal, but it has been a further object of my invention to provide an improvedmeans for the selective control of the throttle and clutch through the movement of the one foot which operates the throttle pedal, so that the clutch may be shifted into or out of engaged position without influence upon throttle condition should the operator so desire. In this aspect my present invention discloses an improvement upon the selective throttle and clutch control means embodied in my pending application for Letters Patent of the United States, bearing Serial No. 533,908.

My invention is-herein shown in a special grouping and arrangement of three'foot pedal elements, all lying within the range of forward movement of a single foot of the operator and each separately connected to a single one ,of the above-named motor or car control adjuncts or to a power control means for actuating the same. I shall hereinafter describe and show my device as connected with pneumatic power control apparatus actuated by recourse to the sub-atmospheric pressure of the intake manifold, of a type now well-known and widely used for effecting easy foot controlofthe clutch and brake, but without those advantages of combination and arrangement which I shall hereinafter set forth, describe andclaim.

My device may be best understood by refer ence to the accompanying drawings, in which:

control arms, which arms are each broken away below its pedal.

Fig. 1a is an end view showing a part of the intake manifold of the motor, partly broken away, and the connected pipes and valves for controlling the pneumatically-actuated means for operating the clutch and brake.

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal view of the valve for controlling the pneumatically-actuated means for operating the clutch, the valve casing and spring being shown in medial longitudinal section.

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal view of the valve for controlling the pneumatically-actuated means for operating the brake, the valve casing and spring being shown in medial longitudinal section.

Fig. 4 isa longitudinal medial sectional view of the pneumatic cylinder and piston for operating the clutch control arm, which cylinder and piston resemble that used for operating the brake control arm.

Fig. 5 isa plan view of the pedal assemblage.

Fig. 6 is a side view of a longitudinal medial section of the pedal assemblage mounted upon the front floor board of the car.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, in which like reference figures indicate like parts, I is a plate attached to the front floor board 2- of the automobile and provided with a pair of upright opposite arms 3, and 4, which are bored to receive a hinge pin 5 upon which is hinged the slotted uprising pedal 6 provided with opposite integral cylindrical bosses 1 and 8, on either side of the slot 9, which-bosses are bored to receive the hinge. pin 5. A second pedal in, bearing an integral cylindrical boss ll, bored to receive the hinge pin 5, is hingedly mounted on the pin 5 between the bosses I and 8 and within the bottom part of the slot 9, the pedal It! being i of a width such that it mayfreely enter the slot 9. A third pedal l2, provided on its upper forked ends with two opposite integral cylindrical bosses l3 and I4, is likewise hingedly mounted. onthe pin 5 astride the bosses l3 and M of the pedal 6, the bosses l3 and I4 being bored to receive the pin 5.

The pedal 6 carries an eye IE, to which is attached one end of a push 'rod IS, the other end being attached to the control arm I! of the carburetor l8. The control arm I! is normally held at the extreme rearward, or closed throttle position, by the coil spring llL'thereto attached, and also attached to the post 20 on the casing of the jmotor 2|.

cylindrical sliding brake control valve Si.

pipe connections.

The valves 25 and iii are provided respectively with cylindrical casings 32 and 353 closed at their front ends respectively by the caps 34! and and provided in their central portions with oppo sitely-placed ports through nipples 36 for their n Each of the valves is normally y'leldably held outwardly by a surrounding coil spring 5? interposed between the back of its casing and a washer 38 which abuts against the yoke 26 in the case of the valve 25 and the yoke 25 in the case of valve 38. Casing 32 of theclutch control valve. 26 is provided with an air port 35,

located to the rear of the passage through nipples,

36, while the casing 33 of the brake control valve 35 has an air port 65 located forward of saidpassage.

The clutch control valve 25 is provided with a deep annular groove ll and a tapering notch 62 on its under side to the rear of the groove 5 l.

The brake control valve M is cut away on the underside of its front end at 53, and has a part of annular groove 66 which deepens progressively .towards its rearward end.

, The passage through the casing 32 of the clutch control valve 26, by way of the opposed nipples 36 and the groove M, is connected with the intake manifold 45 of the motor 28 by means of a pipe 48 above and a pipe t'll below, which pipes convey the suction or sub-atmospheric pressure influence of the intake system to the back part of a clutch control cylinder 48 carrying a'piston 45, piston rod 5d of which is connected by a cord 50 to the clutch control arm 52. The cylinder 46 is supported upon the bracket 53 attached to the side frame 543. The piston rod. 55 y is provided with a groove 55a '(Fig. 4) to afford communication between the adjacent end of the v cylinder 48 and the outer air.

The passage through the casing 33- of the brake control valve 311 by way of the opposite nipples 36 and the groove 44 is connected to the intake manifold by the pipes 55 and 46 above, and com: municates below through the pipe 56 with the rear end of the brake control cylinder 51 mounted on the bracket 58 attached to the side frame 54.

The piston rod 59 of the brake control cylinder 51 has attached thereto one end of a flexible cord 60 which passes around a pulley 6| attached to the? base of the motor 2i and is fastened at its other end to the brake control arm 62 which is yieldably held in a retracted position by the coil spring 63. It will be understood, of course, that the clutch control armis also yieldably held in a. retracted position by a spring incorporated in the clutch mechanism, according to common practiceQWhih holds the clutch normally in engagement. I

The adjustment of the pedals 6, l and I2, and

their attached parts operated thereby, is such that they are normally at rest in the fully retracted positions shown in Figs. 1 and 6, the clutch pedal l0 being retracted somewhat above and to the rear of the throttle control pedal 6. When the pedals are in these positions the valves 2| and II are in the fully retracted positions,

.passage between the brake control cylinder 57 and the intake manifold and is admitting atmospheric air through the port it past the cut-away valve portion 63 to the pipe 56, thus permitting piston rod 59 to move forward in response to the urge of the spring 63 on the brake control arm 62, thereby leaving the brake released. The throttle is in its fully retarded position.

In the case of the piston rod 560i the cylinder 48, I preferably make the groove 55a very shallow on that end nearer the piston 19 inorder that, when the piston is being -moved under the influence of the clutch spring, it may, by reason of the slow escape of air as the clutch is about to become engaged, cause it to engage slowly. In the case of the corresponding groove in the piston rod 59, however, I prefer to maintaina uniform depth for the groove. V

To operate my improved pedal control device, the foot of the operator is placed opposite the group of pedals 5, l and 52, with the heel resting upon the floor board. To accelerate the motor, the foot is rocked forward in the usual manner so as to bring the fore or ball portion of the foot v the parts is such that the movement of the pedal id, sumcient to depress it to the level of the pedal 5, is sufiicient to operate the clutch control valve 25 so as to close the passage through the nipples 35 to the influence of the intake system through the groove 6i and to open the port 5% and permit the entrance of air under atmospheric pressure to the pipe thereby breaking the partial vacuum in the cylinder 48 and per mitting the piston 49 to move forward under the urge of the clutch spring as the clutch comes into engagement. The continued forward movement of the fore part of the foot will depress the pedal 6 so as to open the throttle and further depress the pedal Ill but without effective further influence upon the clutch control system. It will be readily apparent, therefore, that the stages of effective operation of the pedals l0 and 6 are separate and independent as regards clutch and throttle control, the opening of the throttle being accomplished after the clutch control valve is moved into position to permit clutch engagement, and the thottle being closed before the, clutch control valve is moved to cause clutch release,--a feature broadly claimed in my said pending application.

The above-described arrangement of the pedals 6 and I0 aifords an excellent means whereby the operator may, at his election, throw the clutch into engagement without accelerating the motor whenever he wishes to terminate the free wheeling function incidental to this type of clutch control. ,It will be readily understood that free wheeling results from the use of pedal controls arranged in the manner of pedals 6 and I0, since it is wholly natural for the operator of the car, when he has sufficient speed and does not wish to use more power, to retract the fore part of his foot until it is fairly free from contact with opposed spring retracted pedals. If the operator wishes to terminate this free wheeling effect and use his motor as a brake, he has merely to rock the fore part of his foot forward until he perceives that it has made contact with the pedal 6 following its initial contact with the pedal l9. Upon making this second contact, with the pedal 6, there will be encountered not only an added spring resistance as the retractive pressure of the spring 31 on the valve 26 is supplemented by the retractive pressure of the spring l9 attached to the throttle control arm H, but also there will be encountered a slight collision or. tap as the sole of the shoe comes into engagement with the throttle pedal 5 on both sides of the pedal 96, which is already pressed against the soleof the shoe. 1 have noted that the operator may readily feel this tapping engaeement of the foot with the pedal 6 and may, if he wishes, halt the further forward movement of the fore part of his foot and continue to hold the pedal it thus far depressed without depressing the throttle control pedal. To be able to perform this function accurately at will in this simple and convenient manner gives greatly-addved convenience in driving and requires less conscious attention on the part of the operator than,

would be required if he were obliged to rely solely upon the feeling of added spring resistance to the further forward movement 0; the fore part of the foot, i

The operator may apply the brakes at will by simply flexing his foot, so as torock it aboutthe ankle joint thereby retractingthe fore part of the foot and at the same time sliding forward the heel portion so that the heel encounters the pedal 12 and swings its lower end forward. Thus he not only brings his motor to fully retarded throttle and releases his clutch, as is of course desirable, but also applies his brakes by thrusting for'wardthe push rod 28 and the attached valve 3! so as to close the passage to atmospheric airthrough the cut-away portion 43 of the valve and bring the passage around the groove 44 into registration with the passages through the nipples 36, thus permitting the negative influence of confined to the use of but one foot, and that use not involving the shifting. of position of foot, involves so little conscious efiort on the part of the operatorthat there is avoided much of the nerve fatigue commonly attendant upon driving an automobile, and, moreovor, the brakes may be applied at any time quite instantaneously as. l the foot placement does not need to be changed or its position shifted substantially. The operator is free from the necessity of making a new and accurate placement of the foot in order that it may engage the brake pedal, as in common to which he depresses pedal l2 and the speed with which he effects depression of this pedal, apply his brakes either moderately or, with heavy stress or slowly or rapidly as he may desire.

I am aware that it is oldin the art of brakecontrol to employ pneumatically-actuated means I of the general type herein disclosed operating through a foot pedal control, but the foot pedal used has been one of conventional type and placement to which recourse may not be had without shifting the placement of the foot away from the throttle pedal position.

It will be readily apparent that my pedal assemblage may be considerably modified in details of structurewithout departing from the essential principles of structure and arrangement therein embodied which embrace the conception of both clutch control and throttle control pedals located and arranged so as to be capable of being both successively and jointly operated by'a movement of a single foot incidental to throttle operation, and also the conception of a brake control pedal located with reference to the throttle control pedal in such manner that it may be operated by the heel of the foot, the fore part of which is employed to operate the throttle control pedal,

without substantial change in the placementof 'thelfoot.

Having thus fully described my invention, what 1 Iclaim is:

In a device of the character specified the combination of a throttle controlpedal, means connecting said pedal with the engine throttle, a

clutch control pedal means connecting said clutch control pedal with a clutch operating control means and means for yieldably retaining said pedals respectively in fully retracted positions,

such that said clutch control pedal is retracted further than said throttle control pedal said pedals being closely associated and arranged in a manner whereby they may be successively and jointly operated by the foot of the operator when 'said foot is located in the placement and moved in the manner required to operate said throttle control pedal, said throttle control pedal being provided with an opening within which said clutch control pedal is adapted to enter.

HAROLD E. CLARKE. 

